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Eat That Frog
Book Highlights
Title: Eat That Frog
Author: Brian Tracy
Genre: Self-Help
Pages: 119Pages
Difficulty Level: Easy
Eat That Frog: Book Review
Do you struggle to complete your tasks every day? Do you find yourself delaying your tasks for unwanted reasons? You might be suffering from procrastination. It is an expected behavior but a dangerous one. Each of us suffers from it one way or another, and if we do not manage it effectively, it might as well get out of our hands, possibly, affecting all aspects of life.
So how do you deal with such a gruesome problem?
And to find the solution, I laid my hands on Brian Tracy’s Eat That Frog. Eat That Frog is a self-help book designed to tackle the problem of procrastination. The ‘Frog’ in the title symbolizes any challenging task or activity, and by the term Eat That Frog, he is encouraging the readers to tackle them head first.
Eat That Frog is like a poetic symbol of doing the uncomfortable things in life. You may not like it, but it is necessary for your growth.
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The book is a short, concise, and to-the-point written book. You would not find unwanted or unrelated texts to validate the theory. I find this book particularly beneficial for those who want to develop a reading habit. Such short books can help take a first step towards reading more and more books.
There are 21 different suggestions by Brian where he provides various reasons why we procrastinate and how we can tackle it. One of the best arguments I have found so far is that we procrastinate because either we are not confident about our skills, do not find the task engaging, or provide any immediate result.
Maybe that is why we try to do what we love because then we would do it more often, and our chances of succeeding would increase.
I find the ideas in this book helpful, and the author talks about facts. He has experience of over three decades, and his suggestions are proof of that. The suggestions after every chapter are a plus. You need not implement all of those; find the one and work on it. Assess the benefits it brings. If not, move to another.
If you find that you would want some help bringing the chaos back in order, I would recommend you to read Eat That Frog.
Eat That Frog: Book Summary
- With the right knowledge and strategy, you can complete your tasks on time without any delay.
- Regularly practice developing your skills to be relevant to the market.
- Do the hard things on your list first, which are high value to you, rest of the tasks either can be delegated or done at a later time.
Who Should Read It?
Those who have troubles completing their tasks on time or those who procrastinate a lot should spend time reading this book.
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Eat That Frog: Top Quotes
- The first rule of frog eating is this: If you have to eat two frogs, eat the ugliest one first.
- Successful, happy and prosperous people use their time far, far better than the average person.
- You cannot eat every tadpole and frog in the pond, but you can eat the biggest and ugliest one, and that will be enough, at least for the time being.
Eat That Frog Notes
1) Set The Table:
- Have clarity on why you want to do any task. The usual cause for procrastination is generally the lack of clarity or motivation.
- The 7-Step List to Complete your tasks:
- Decide what you want
- Write it down
- Set Deadline
- Make the list of required things
- Organize the list into a plan
- Take action on your plan
- Do it every single day
2) Plan Every Day in Advance
- Use a to-do list to know what you have to do.
- This way you receive a better return of your energy spent.
- Provides you more control for your day
3) The 80/20 Principle
- Find the most important task and do it.
- Focus on the hard task. It has the most value associated to it.
Make a list of all the key goals, activities, projects and responsibilities in your life today. Which of them are, or could be in the top 10 or 20 percent of the tasks that represent, could represent 80 or 90 percent of your results.
4) Consider the consequences:
- Develop long term thinking.
- Improves your short term actions.
- Instant gratification is harmful for your success. Learn to delay it and you can spend more time building your dream.
5) Practice Creative Procrastination
- Say no to low value tasks, not contributing to your end goal.
6) Focus on Key Result Area:
- Determine the key areas and the qualities you must possess.
- Develop a clarity on why you want to do or learn certain skillset.
7) Apply The Law of Three
- Find the 3 most crucial tasks that contributes most your growth.
- Answer The Following Questions:
- What are your three most important business or career goals right now?
- What are your three most important financial goals right now?
- What are your three most important family or relationships goals right now?
- What are your three most important personal or professional development goals right now?
- What are your three biggest problems or concerns in life right now?
8) Take it One Oil Barrel at A Time
- Breakdown task/projects into simpler tasks.
- Provides you courage to do things more quickly.
- You can overcome procrastination and accomplish extraordinary things by taking just the first step, getting started towards your goal, and then taking it one step, one oil barrel, at a time.
9) Upgrade Your Key Skills
- A major reason for procrastination is the feeling of inadequacy, lack of confidence or the ability to complete a task.
- Learn and read more about your field.
10) Focus Your attention:
- Give your focus to one task at a time. Multitasking sounds good but it reduces the amount you can concentrate between two things. It affects your productivity and the end result.
- Use technologies as your tools and do not become addicted as they consume a lot of your time and prevent you from doing the things you need.
11) Create Large Chunks of Time:
- Your goals require you spending time at your tasks. Plan ahead of when you will do the tasks to avoid any delay.
- The greater amount of you spend doing these tasks increases your likelihood to succeed.
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